Horus
Lord of Admirals
| Commonwealth Shock Troopers |
The Commonwealth Shock Troopers (CST), informally referred to as Jumpers, are a special operations unit of the Marine Corps. One of the primary special operations forces of the Commonwealth, despite being a member of the Marine Corps the CST are under the administrative and operational control of the Commonwealth Navy. The organization is headquartered on the planet Uluru in the Cadi System. Its primary training facilities are located on Alexandria.
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Role
An elite unit of the Commonwealth Marine Corps, Shock Troopers are distinguished by their unconventional method of deployment via drop pods in high orbit. Troopers are dropped to the surface of a world aboard small, purpose-built deployment pods. This allows them to conduct a wide range of missions against targets that more conventional forces cannot approach undetected.
CST deployment via drop pod is considered more effective than dropship deployment but is far more likely to be lethal, as well as costly as each drop pod can only be used once. The high fatality rate is due tot he fact that drop pods are not a perfected technology, if chutes fail or reverse-thrusters do not ignite drop pods will crash against a planets surface at a lethal velocity.
CST's are often deployed depending on a combat teams specialization, as particular mission sets require different specialization. CST's most often see use in long-range reconnaissance behind enemy lines, clearing landing zones for the Marine Corps, unconventional warfare and small-scale offensives.
Similar to their infantry counterparts, the CST's maintain units of varying strength aboard Commonwealth vessels, installations, outposts and bases as HOMECOM sees fit. They also serve as emergency respondents for civilian evacuations or military police in highly confidential CNI installations and research facilities.
Organization
Under the authority of the Commonwealth Navy and HOMECOM, the Commonwealth Shock Troopers are a special operations unit of the Marine Corps. CSTs are often organized in six combat teams per post. Every CST combat team consists twelve members, divided into three fireteams of four personnel each. CST's fall under the Commonwealth Navy rank.